April 27, 2017

Seven finalists chosen for 2017 Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year Award

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the Golden Wings Awards rapidly approaching, seven Tennessee Tech athletes are up for one of the night’s biggest awards – the Outstanding Male Athlete Award.

By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the Golden Wings Awards rapidly approaching, seven Tennessee Tech athletes are up for one of the night's biggest awards – the Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year Award.

The award, voted on by the TTU Awards Committee, will be handed out during the presentation. This honor, as well as the Female Athlete of the Year, Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, had previously been announced in late June and early July, but has been added into the Golden Wings Awards presentation this year.

The timeframe of the awards period is the current season (2016-17 in this instance) except for baseball, softball and outdoor track & field. With those sports still competing with a large portion of their seasons still left, the previous spring campaigns (2016 in this instance) are recognized. The Man and Woman of the Year awards encompass the 2016-17 period for all sports.

The criteria for the award is strictly based on the athletic achievements of each student-athlete in the 2016-17 academic year. The seven finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

<<< Michael Birdsong | Senior | Colonial Heights, Va. | Football
A transfer from Marshall and James Madison, Birdsong started at quarterback in all 11 games for the Tech football team in 2016, helping lead the team to a third-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference, the team's highest finish since winning the league title in 2011. In just one season with the Golden Eagles, Birdsong made a massive impact, throwing for 2,577 yards as he completed 216 of his 346 passes with 17 touchdowns, as well as rushing for 226 yards as he tallied 2,803 yards of total offense. Birdsong was second in the league in passing yards, third in total offense and fourth in passing touchdowns. His one season ranks second all-time in school history for passing yards and the best single-season in total offense.

Gilbert Boit | Freshman | Eten, Kenya | Cross Country >>>
It's hard to find a more dominant season than the one Boit had in the 2016 campaign. Boit led the Golden Eagles in every event and won the inaugural Golden Eagle Invitational. He also became the first Tech men's cross country runner to win the OVC Championship, and was named the OVC Athlete of the Championship and the league's Freshman of the Year. He owns the top four times in the 8K distance in program history and was named to the USTFCCCA All-South Region Team. He placed 11^th at the NCAA South Regional race, the best finish in school history.

<<< Dontez Byrd | Junior | Louisville, Ky. | Football
A transfer from Louisville, the speedy Byrd made an immediate impact with the Golden Eagles as he caught a single-season record 933 yards on 74 catches. He hauled in seven touchdowns and averaged 84.8 yards per game. He was the one of the top receivers in the conference in 2016, leading the league in catches and ranking third in receiving yards and touchdowns. For the season, Byrd also tallied 1,626 all-purpose yards – the top total in the OVC – which included a school-record 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Mercer. Over the course of the season, he was named the OVC Specialist of the Week, the STATS FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week, OVC Offensive Player of the Week, OVC Newcomer of the Week, All-OVC Second Team Offense and OVC All-Newcomer Team.

Aleksa Jugovic | Junior | Leskovac, Serbia | Basketball >>>
One of the most exciting players on the men's basketball team, Jugovic has been a fan-favorite with his hot hand since his arrival to Cookeville. In 32 games started this season, Jugovic averaged 15.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 35.1 minutes per game as he shot 39.8-percent from the field, 36.0-percent beyond the arc and a conference-best 90.8-percent at the charity stripe. Jugovic led the Golden Eagles in scoring and set a program record as he hit seven consecutive 3-pointers at Lipscomb, as well as leading Tech to an overtime victory at Tennessee State with a career-high 30 points. During the season, Jugovic also became the 35^th member of the Golden Eagles' 1,000-point club.

<<< Eduardo Mena | Junior | Bultrago del Lozoya, Spain | Tennis
The reigning co-winner of the 2016 Outstanding Male Athlete Award, Mena has continued his dominance over the OVC on the court. Following an impressive season last year, Mena has risen through the national ranks, taking the No. 62-spot. During the campaign, Mena finished 20-5 overall, including 15-2 in dual play, 5-3 in tournaments and 6-0 in the OVC. Against nationally-ranked foes, Mena went 3-1 while rising to as high as a No. 55 national ranking. He finished the regular season with 11 straight wins, helping Tech to an undefeated mark in conference play with the league's regular-season and tournament championships. He was named the OVC Player of the Year for the second straight year and to the All-OVC First Team.

Josh Poplar | Sophomore | Knoxville, Tenn. | Football >>>
Poplar was an unstoppable force on the Golden Eagle defense, leading Tech in tackles as he accumulated 105 stops – 40 solo and 65 assisted – with 3.5 for-loss. He also broke up one pass, forced two fumbles, recovered three more fumbles and returned one for a touchdown against Mercer. Poplar was named to the All-OVC Second Team on defense. Poplar was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team and the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team.

<<< Ethan Roberts | Sophomore | Sparta, Tenn. | Baseball
As a freshman, Roberts had the kind of season many pitchers would have dreamed of. In his first season in the purple and gold, he tallied a 6-1 record in 17 appearances with a 2.94 earned run average, earning two saves in 49 innings of work. He allowed just 16 earned runs as he walked 18 and struck out a whopping 65. Opponents facing him accumulated just a .234 batting average. Among his accolades, Roberts was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and was selected to the OVC All-Freshman Team.

The Outstanding Male Athlete Award was first established in 1994 and 27 winners have been selected in the previous 23 years, including four years with co-winners.

The previous winners include:

1994 – Mike Jones (Football)
1995 – Greg Bibb (Basketball)
1996 – Michael Penix (Football)
1997 – Mark Maberry (Baseball)
1998 – Andre Caballero (Football)
1999 – Branon Vaughn (Football)
2000 – Branon Vaughn (Football)
2001 – Chad Evitts (Football)
2002 – Grant Swallows (Football)
2003 – Casey Benjamin (Baseball)
2004 – Willie Jenkins (Basketball)
2005 – Willie Jenkins (Basketball) / Frank Omiyale (Football)
2006 – Scott Stallings (Golf)
2007 – Scott Stallings (Golf)
2008 – Larry Shipp (Football)
2009 – A.J. Kirby-Jones (Baseball)
2010 – A.J. Kirby-Jones (Baseball) / Chad Oberacker (Baseball)
2011 – Zac Swansey (Basketball)
2012 – Tim Benford (Football)
2013 – Syrym Abduhkalikov (Tennis)
2014 – Daniel Miles (Baseball) / Brandon Thomasson (Baseball)
2015 – Alex Arovin (Tennis)
2016 – Eduardo Mena (Tennis) / Kevin Strohschein (Baseball)